THE IKHIGATION AGE. 



425 



The credit for blocking this move is due, largely, to 

 D. H. Wilkie of Utah and Thomas' Knight of Missouri, 

 who declared that the irrigation congress had accom- 

 plished mighty things in its line and would continue to 

 do so under its own flag, whereas a union with an organ- 

 ization in some ways directly opposite in its aims might 

 develop obstacles. Mr. Knight urged sticking right to the 

 proposition of irrigation while there remains an arid acre 

 capable of Being brought under the magic touch of water. 



Another suggestion, broader in scope than the first, 

 urging the combination of the Irrigation Congress, the 

 National Reclamation Association, the Dry Farming Con- 

 gress, the Trans-Mississippi Commercial Congress and 

 some other public organizations was presented to the 

 meeting by advocates of the plan. This also called forth 

 much protest, many of the delegates declaring vehemently 

 that the Irrigation Congress should not lose its identity 

 after twenty-one years of honorable and successful 

 achievement. 



Among the foreign delegates who either spoke or 

 sent written greetings were Niel Nielson of Australia, 

 William H. Fairfield and Xorman S. Rankin of Canada, 

 Senor Lopes Ferreria of Portugal, Juan Padilla of Guate- 

 mala, Professor George Von Wendt of Finland, Vivaldo 

 Coaracy of Brazil and Romulo Escobar of Mexico. A 

 paper by Elwood Mead, chairman of the State River and 

 Water Supply Commission of Australia, was read at the 

 evening session, Mr. Mead was unable to be present. 



It was decided to hold the next congress at Phoenix, 

 Arizona. 



The following officers were elected: Major Richard 

 W. Young, Salt Lake City, Utah, president; J. B. Case, 

 Abilene, Kans., first vice-president; John Fairweather, 

 Fresno, Cal., second vice-president; S. H. Lea, Pierre, 

 S. D., third vice-president; Richard F. Burges, El Paso, 

 Tex., fourth vice-president; Kurt Grunwald, Pueblo, Colo., 

 fifth vice-president; Arthur Hooker, Spokane, Wash., 

 secretary. 



Following are members of the Executive Committee: 

 P. S. Lack, Phoenix, Ariz.; John A. Fox, Arkansas; Doug- 

 las White, Los Angeles, Cal.; Dr. C. W. Dixson, Kelowna, 

 B. C., Canada; Lou D. Sweet, Denver, Colo.; Frida D. 

 Sanford, Derby, Conn.; C. J. Blanchard, Washington, 

 P. C.; C. M. Hill, Boise, Idaho; D. H. Anderson, Chicago, 

 111.; M. F. P. Costelloe, Ames, Iowa; Mrs. Charles B. 

 Andrews, Kansas; George H. Maxwell, New Orleans, 

 La.; F. L. Vandegrift, Kansas City, Mo.; L. Newman, 

 Great Falls, Mont.; Prof. O. V. P. Stout, Lincoln, Neb.; 

 James G. Givens, Las Vegas, Nev. ; W. S. Hopewell, Albu- 

 querque, N. M.; Trueman G. Palmer, New York; E. F. 

 Bohm, Cleveland, Ohio; Harley J. Hooker, Altus, Okla.; 

 J. T. Hinkle, Hermiston, Ore.; Morris Knowles, Pitts- 

 burgh, Pa.; C. L. Millett, Fort Pierre, S. D.; J. A. Smith, 

 El Paso, Tex.; Geprge A. Snow, Salt Lake City, Utah; 

 R. Insinger, Spokane, Wash. 



Send $1.00 for 1 year's subscription to the IRRIGA- 

 TION AGE and bound copy of THE PRIMER OF IRRIGA- 

 TION. If you desire a copy of The Primer of Hy- 

 draulics add $2.50 to above price. 



SOME PHASES OF IRRIGATION IN RELA- 

 TION TO FRUIT GROWING. 



An Address by Prof. C. I. Lewis of the Oregon 



Agricultural College Before the Western Canada 



Irrigation Congress at Kelowna, B. C. 



In considering the relation of fruit growing to irriga- 

 tion, two pictures immediately come to my mind and they 

 illustrate pretty nearly the present status of irrigation and 

 fruit growing. 



In the first case I see a lot of soft, spongy apples of 

 poor quality^ watery peaches and insipid cherries fruit 

 which neither keeps nor ships well. I see the orchard dying, 

 the seepage pools creeping among the trees and the alkali 

 doing its deadly work. Winter injury is also taking its 

 toll, and various diseases are playing havoc among the 

 trees. If this is the consequence of correct irrigation, then 

 irrigation as related to fruit growing is surely a curse. 

 While this picture too often is true, it should be the great 

 exception and" not the rule. 



The other picture that I see is orchards in the finest 

 of vigor, producing maximum yields of fruit which they 

 bear annually and the fruit is much improved in quality, 

 being more juicy and palatable. The fruit is found to be 

 of a larger size, of a brighter or more lively color. We 

 find that more intercropping is practiced among the trees 

 successfully, there are less windfalls and culls usually, and 

 if this is a true picture, irrigation becomes one of the 

 greatest blessings of the country. 



In traveling quite extensively over the Pacific coast I 

 have seen these pictures repeated over and over. One man 

 says it is impossible to grow good fruit with irrigation, 

 another that it can not be grown without irrigation. The 

 fact is irrigation should have no different effect on the 

 fruit than natural rainfall. 



A great advantage in irrigation lies in the absolute 

 moisture control of the soil. The trouble with irrigation 

 lies in the fact that we are constantly blaming the science 

 of irrigation when we should blame the ignorant irriga- 

 tor. We have not made irrigation the science it should 

 be. We have been more interested in how much water to 

 use rather than how little. We have not emphasized suf- 

 ficiently the importance of drainage in irrigation. Also, 

 we need to practice a more intelligent interplanting of 

 our fruits. It is a common practice to grow all classes of 

 fruit on the same piece of soil under irrigation. While 

 they can be grown and marketed at a profit, it is very 

 rarely that they can all be grown to the highest degree of 

 perfection. Take peaches, for example; it is most unwise 

 to irrigate peaches up to within three weeks of harvesting; 

 on the other hand, if this rule were followed closely, the 

 apple trees planted among the peaches might suffer. Un- 

 doubtedly we are at times tempted to grow too large .a 

 specimen and too much fruit to the tree at the expense of 

 quality. 



Up to the present time we have spent most of our 

 energies on the engineering phases of the irrigation prob- 

 lem. This was necessary, as these projects had to be 

 started and the water distributed. Having received the 

 water, we simply poured it on and expected nature would 

 do the rest. Generally our expectations have been ful- 

 filled, although nature does not always pay us in the way 

 we anticipate. 



The division of horticulture of the Oregon Agricul- 

 tural College and Experiment Station has been working on 

 irrigation problems for five years. This work has been 

 carried on in southern Oregon fruit districts, in the home 

 station at Corvallis. and in eastern Oregon at Hermiston, 

 where we have a 40-acre irrigation experiment station. 



In regard to the bearing fruit trees, in our work we 

 have made a study of the subject in a broad way, but it 

 will be a number of years before complete data can be 

 secured. We have studied the date of application of irriga- 

 tion water, amount applied, the kind of water to use, 

 whether river, well or spring; temperature of water at its 

 point of source and as it reaches the land; the depth of 

 percolation and spread by capalarity, and the drainage. 



